


Galactic Horizons

by ElegantButler



Category: Max Headroom (TV)
Genre: Gen, IN SPACE, Polluted Earth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-12
Updated: 2017-07-22
Packaged: 2018-10-31 00:24:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 8,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10888044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElegantButler/pseuds/ElegantButler
Summary: When the Earth becomes too polluted for humans to survive on the surface, the general population moves to underground cities while Network 23 moves its main staff to a space station





	1. Background and Goodbyes

Max Headroom: Galactic Horizons

 

CHAPTER 01: Background and Goodbyes

Network 23 was one of the world’s top television networks. With a variety of shows, and a world-famous lineup of reporters, including Edison Carter, they had garnered several prestigious awards such as the Vidi, which was the award for best show on air.

From 1997 to the year 2005, the Network had been located in the center of London, standing proudly over the rest of the city like a giant monolith. It had been run by Ned Grossberg and Ben Cheviot for most of that time, until the scandal involving a new style of advertising called blipvertisements, or blipverts, caused Grossberg to lose his position as network chairman.

Now, due to the fact that there were fewer plants being grown outdoors to support the food industry (they relied mainly on hydroponics), the pollution content of the air had been growing steadily worse over the past few years. Since most people either paid attention only to television or kept themselves fed on Zik Zak burger packs and crunch fries, nobody had noticed the growing pollution until it had been too late.

Now most of the people had fled to underground bunkers where filtered air was pumped in regularly through a ventilation system.

For the past two months, the employees at Network 23 had been training for life on a space station. Since it was important for them to be able to reach a global audience, it had been decided that the majority of the employees would be sent up to a position in space above the pollution where their signal could be sent out with minimal interference.

Edison Carter was one of the few employees who would remain behind on the polluted earth. As a reporter, he was needed on the ground to investigate the stories that took place there.

Since he would soon be parted for a long time from his friends, he had invited them to a dinner at the Fresh Start, one of the few restaurants in the city not run by Zik Zak and one of the few that had been able to afford the move to the underground city.

Seeing Murray, Theora, and Bryce he waved to them.

They waved back and the party went into the restaurant together

“So, you head up tomorrow,” Edison said as they sat at their table.

“It’s really exciting,” Bryce said. “I’m hoping they’ll have an anti-gravity room I can conduct a few experiments in. Max is coming, too. It’ll be easier for him to air from direct line of sight than to shoot a signal up through the pollution layer and back down again.”

“I heard Cheviot is staying at ground level, too. Apparently he’s too old and fragile to make the trip to the station.”

“How long is the trip?” Edison asked.

“Fifteen hours,” Bryce told him. “But the first ten minutes will be at high velocity. The gravitational forces will be very powerful.”

“That would be a problem for anyone Cheviot’s age who didn’t have a lifetime of astronaut training,” Edison conceded. “How about you, Bryce? Think you can handle it. You seem a little fragile to me.”

“I’ve been training for this mission ever since it was brought up,” Bryce told him. “I can handle it. Though I might pass out for a few moments due to the high stress level.”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Theora assured him.

“You’re probably right,” Bryce smiled. “I passed the test in the simulator so I should be okay.”

They ordered their dinner and ate in mostly in silence, each considering the next day and the adventure it would bring them.

After dinner, Murray spoke up.

“No time for dessert I’m afraid,” he said. “We have an early start tomorrow morning. We’re staying together in the bunker at the old space center.”

“Then I’ll say goodbye now,” Edison said. “I’ve got an interview in the morning so I’ll probably miss your lift-off.”

“We’ll contact you once we’ve set up on the station,” Theora told him. “I’m sure you’ll hear from Bryce as soon as he discovers or invents something new.”

“I’m hoping I can continue to count on him for help when I need it, too,” Edison said, looking at Bryce as he spoke.

“I’ll do what I can,” Bryce promised.


	2. Lift-Off: The Journey Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Murray, Theora, and Bryce begin their journey to Star Station 23.

CHAPTER 02: Lift-Off - The Journey Begins

Bryce was the last to strap himself into his chair on the shuttlecraft that would take Edison’s team to the space station. He had been talking with the flight crew about the various aspects of the shuttle’s systems and their view of space travel.

“It’s beautiful up there,” the captain told him. “But it can also be scary at times. Space is not your friend. Nor is it your enemy if you’re careful with it. It’s quite ambivalent. Respect it and you’ll be okay. Otherwise, you’re in a lot of trouble.”

“You sound like you’re talking about the sea,” Theora said as Bryce sat down and strapped in.

“My great grandfather was a sea captain,” the captain explained. “He wrote a diary that said pretty much the same thing. I quickly found out when I took my first trip into space that space and the sea are sisters of a sort. Both beautiful and both deadly.”

The captain moved to the main cabin and strapped himself in.

“Shuttle 23-A to mission control,” he said. “Everyone’s boarded and we’re waiting for clearance.”

“This is mission control,” a woman’s voice said. “The weather is a balmy seventy degrees and we have clearance. Pollution cover is at forty percent so we’ll be transferring to instruments at once lift-off has commenced.”

“Understood, Shuttle 23-A ready. All passengers strapped in and ready.”

“The planet sends best wishes to them,” mission control told them. “Countdown minus 10...9...8…”

The count continued until lift-off.

Murray, Theora and Bryce gripped were held back against their chairs by the tremendous force of gravity as the shuttle left the launch pad.

“You kids okay back there?” the co-pilot asked, keeping his eyes on the instruments.

Murray winced at being called a kid, but answered all the same.

“We’re fine,” he announced. “All’s good back here.”

“Glad to hear it,” the co-pilot told him. “We’ll be clearing the atmosphere in 7 minutes. Just relax. All will be well.”

Once the strain of lift-off had passed, Theora relaxed and looked out the window.

Below them the Earth spun silently. They slowly orbited the planet on a trajectory to the geostationary Star Station 23.

“Estimated arrival time fourteen hours twenty minutes,” the captain told them once orbit had been established. “Any questions?”

Bryce had wanted to ask a dozen when he’d first boarded the shuttle. Now that he was looking at space for himself, not from the viewpoint of a video camera’s ancient recording, he was too stunned to speak.

“Cat got your tongue?” Murray asked him.

Bryce nodded mutely.

“It’s amazing,” Theora said, agreeing with what Bryce’s eyes were saying.

“Just think, people used to come up here to find out about space,” Bryce finally spoke up. “Now they come to get away from the pollution. Though so far only network employees can afford to come.”

“Just as well,” Murray pointed out. “We don’t have room up here for the population of even one city. And there are hundreds, no thousands of cities down there below us.”

“Maybe some day we’ll find a way to clean up the pollution?” Bryce offered.

“As long as people are watching TV instead of watching the planet, I doubt that will ever


	3. Star Station 23 - Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Murray, Theora, and Bryce arrive at Star Station 23

CHAPTER 03: Star Station 23 - Arrival

 

“Hey,” Murray’s voice sifted through the haze of Theora’s dream. “We’re almost there.”

Theora opened her eyes and looked blurrily at Murray.

“Where’s Bryce?” she asked.

“He went to chat with the captain. Probably asking about docking procedures.”

Bryce returned a moment later.

“All questions answered?” Theora asked.

“Hardly,” Bryce told her. “They had to start getting ready so they booted me back here.”

Theora smiled.

“You’ll get your answers one day,” she told him. “Did you see the station?”

“Just a small glimpse,” Bryce admitted “The cockpit window is too small to really get a good view.”

The captain’s voice came over the shuttler’s intercom system several minutes later.

“We are entering star station orbit and preparing for docking,” he told them. “If you look out the right side window, you can see Star Station 23.”

Bryce, Murray, and Theora turned their heads and gazed at the place that would soon be their new home.

Star Station 23 consisted of four flat levels that reminded Murray of the blades of an old fashioned motorized fan. Each ‘blade’ was turned at a different angle from the other levels, giving a staircase effect. They were attached by oval tunnels that led to the central lift cluster.

On the outer rim of the highest blade was the station’s docking bay. It reminded Bryce of the pictures he’d seen in history books of the deck of an aircraft carrier. Only this deck was protected by a large clear cover.

As the shuttle approached, the radio flared into life.

“Shuttle 23-A this is Star Station 23,” a man’s voice said. “We have you on our radar. You are clear to land on the deck. Please hold for deck open.”

“Star Station 23,” the captain replied, “this is Shuttle 23-A. We are in star station orbit and awaiting deck open.”

The deck’s protective cover lifted until there was room for the shuttle to land.

Once the shuttle had touched down, the cover closed down over it.

“Star Station 23 deck now closed,” an electronic female voice told them. “Please wait until appropriate oxygen and gravity levels have been reached before deboarding the shuttle.”

They had to wait an additional fifteen minutes until the large space had sufficient oxygen and gravity on deck. Once these had been established, a maintenance crew came out to tend to the shuttle while Murray, Theora, and Bryce deboarded.

Lauren, Network 23’s chief board member aboard the station, soon came onto the deck.

“I see you’ve made it safely aboard,” she said. “Good. I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping and working, and you can drop off your bags. Then I’ll give you a tour of the station.”

Theora, Bryce, and Murray followed Lauren into the lift cluster.

“The middle lift leads to the personal rooms,” Lauren explained. “It’s the only one that does. And it requires a code key. This is to ensure that the occasional visitor does not accidentally end up in someone’s private room. I will give you the code once the tour is over.”

She keyed it in and the lift door opened. 

Bryce was the first to enter, followed by Theora, Murray, and Lauren.

Pressing a button, Lauren turned to her lift-mates.

“We spend most of our time in the innermost areas of the levels,” she said, a slight tone of regret in her voice. “So it’s often easy to forget we’re in space.”

“We really shouldn’t do that,” Bryce offered. “That’s how Earth got into the mess it’s in now. We didn’t pay attention.”

“That’s true,” Lauren agreed. “And it may already be too late to do anything.”

Bryce wondered if that statement were really true.

The lift stopped and the doors slid open.

“This way,” Lauren offered as she led them off the lift and down the hall.

There were several rooms, many adorned with personalized plaques stating who was living in each one.

It soon became clear that all of these rooms belonged to men. Apparently the women’s quarters were on a different level.

Lauren tapped one door and it swung open.

“Bryce,” she said. “This will be your room. Drop off your luggage and Max’s box and join us in a moment. I’m going to show Murray his room. It’s right across the hall.”

“Great,” Murray said, in mock cheerfulness.

It was bad enough he had to live in a place that reminded him of a hospital, but to have his rooms directly across from Bryce was just too much.

“Oh, it won’t be so bad, Murray,” Theora assured him as they followed Lauren across the hall to Murray’s rooms. “You’ll get used to it in no time.”


	4. Star Station 23 - Settling In

Chapter 04: Star Station 23 - Settling In

Bryce unpacked his suitcase, assuming one could call dumping it out on top of the dresser unpacking. He unpacked Max a lot more carefully, connecting the box to the station’s television system and sending the uplink codes.

A moment later, the familiar face of Max Headroom appeared on the screen.

“I was wonder-wonder-wondering when you’d let me out of there. Of there.” Max complained. “It was so stuffy.”

“Sorry,” Bryce apologized. “There was nowhere for you to go. I couldn’t let you into the shuttle’s video system.”

“Hmph!” Max huffed.

“Look, you’re out now,” Bryce reasoned. “Let’s not argue, okay? I’ve had a long week of getting absolutely nothing accomplished.”

This was a fact that bothered Bryce quite a bit. His mind was always racing, always trying to find the nearest byte of data or come up with the newest invention or concept.”

“You got here, didn’t you?” Max offered, hopefully.

Bryce smiled at that. “Yeah, I guess I did.”

Bryce flopped down onto the bed and gazed at the ceiling for a few minutes. His mind was adjusting to the whole idea. He was no longer on Earth. He would spend the rest of his life here on Star Station 23.

Theora and Lauren got off the lift on the women’s living level. 

“This room will be your living quarters, Miss Jones,” Lauren told Theora as she opened a door on the left hand side of the corridor.

Theora took her suitcase and set it on the bed. Opening each drawer, she began to unpack.

“So, I noticed we have artificial gravity on this station.” she said.

“It varies from section to section. To save on power, forty percent of the rooms, such as Control and half of the R&D level are in weightless mode.”

“I’m sure Bryce will get a kick out of the anti-gravity sections of his department. He’s been wanting to do some experiments with that.”

Lauren smiled. “I think you’re right. Though I imagine right now he’s probably unpacking and talking to Max.”

“Knowing teenage boys like I do,” Theora noted, “I’m guessing his clothes are piled on top of the dresser.”

Lauren shrugged. “You’re probably right. I’ll leave you to unpack and settle in then.”

Theora smiled and turned to move the contents of her suitcase into her bedroom dresser.

“I’ll see you later, then,” Lauren told her. “Tomorrow I’ll show you, Murray, and Bryce around the station. Control is going to be very interesting for you.”

“It’s certainly going to be different working control from a weightless position.” Theora agreed. “Do I need to wear anything special?”

“I wouldn’t recommend wearing a skirt,” Lauren told her. “But you needn’t worry about that. There is a new uniform for each department.”

“So why did we come with our own stuff, then?” Theora wondered.

“For your days off,” Lauren told her, adding a friendly smile as she turned and left with a small wave.

Theora waved back and resumed her unpacking.

For his part, Murray was just about ready to scream. He didn’t like the plain walls which were decorated only with the screens of his TV and his view phone. There were windows, of course. But all they showed was the stars and the blackness of space, so he decided not to look out of them.

He didn’t even want to think of what would happen should the window glazing erode. The idea of being sucked out of the window and what that would do to him was one he could do without.

There was a knock on his door. Hoping it wasn’t Bryce, he answered it.

~So much for hoping,~ he thought to himself, seeing Bryce standing there.

“I need your help,” the teenager said, unexpectedly.

This caused Murray to raise an eyebrow.

“I’ve been told you’re pretty good at racquetball,” Bryce explained. “I want to do an experiment on the effects of anti-gravity on the angular deflection of a ball in motion during a racquetball match.”

“If you want to play me in a game, just say so,” Murray told him. Did the boy need a scientific excuse for everything.

“Fine, I’d like to play you in a game,” Bryce said, cheerfully.

As they headed for the station’s court, Bryce added.

“But I still plan on checking the effects.”


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5: 

 

The following day, back on Earth, Edison Carter checked his vidicam. He had been hearing recently about an incident at one of the the hydroponics centers. Apparently one of the filters had been contaminated somehow leading to a loss of several crops. He wanted to find out more about the situation. It was troubling that something so important could be so easily destroyed.

There were other centers. But each had limited room and resources, so they were set up to only provide sustenance to a specific set of locations.

He finished his vidicam check and decided to attempt contact with Star Station 23.

“Carter to Star Station 23, do you copy?”

“Some signal degradation due to electronic interference,” Theora’s voice came back. “Where are you?”

“Zik Zak Happy Hydroponics,” Edison said. “I think their equipment must be causing the interference.”

“You won’t be able to report from the site if that’s what your story’s about,” Theora said. “Too much interference. The viewers will change channels in a second. Get what you can then find a clear spot to send from.”

“Edison got something?” Murray’s voice could barely be heard over the link.

“Something to do with the hydroponics center,” Theora told him.

“Go on,” Murray said more clearly. “What is it?”

“Contamination of a filter at Happy Hydro,” Edison told him. “I’ll see how much information I can find out.”

“How’d the racquetball game go?” Theora asked.

Before Edison could ask what she was talking about Murray replied.

“When I left him Bryce was commenting on the conservation of momentum and how he needed to remember to adjust for zero gravity next time.” Murray said with a smile in his voice.

“Sounds like you beat him,” Edison said, sounding impressed. “I would think playing Bryce in racquetball would be like playing a game of pool with a geometry professor.”

“He’s just not playing on familiar turf right now,” Theora pointed out. “His usual strategy doesn’t apply with the current set up.”

 

Bryce allowed himself to relax as he drifted in the racquetball court, his feet a few inches from the floor. He let the ball hover for a second before striking it with his racquet, taking note of the angle at which the ball struck and rebounded. He noticed, also, that his own body moved slightly in response to the movement of his arm.

~There’s the reason,~ he thought to himself. ~The movement of my body in response to the motion of my arm is causing a discrepancy in the angle at which I hit the rebound. It’s too minute to notice during an actual game. That’s why I didn’t realize it was happening.~


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6:

Edison arrived at the Fresh Start at lunchtime. But he was not there for a meal.

The restaurant, like so many of the others, including the Zik Zak Know Chow restaurants, was deeply affected by the recent contamination of the Zik Zak Happy Hydroponics center in London.

Theora’s brother, Shawn, had gone back to working at the Fresh Start and it was he, being grateful for being rescued by Edison during his dangerous Raking days. 

Raking had been a sport, which had nearly killed Shawn. It had consisted of razor-gloved teens lashing at each other on motorized skateboards, or rakeboards as they were called.

At nineteen, Shawn, or Ace as he’d been called, had been one of the older members of the team. He had been a good Raker, but not good enough to avoid a slash across his abdomen from a member of a rival team.

Edison had fortunately been there. And his quick thinking had saved Theora’s brother from an untimely death at the hands of the team owners, who had the nasty habit of only spraying their wounded with coagulants rather than seeing they were properly treated for their injuries.  
Now Edison was sitting in the restaurant where Shawn was once again employed.

Shawn sat down across from him in a relaxed but serious pose.

“So, what is it you want to know?” Shawn asked as Edison set his vidicam on the table and pressed the record button..

“I want to know how your restaurant is doing now that there has been a sudden decrease in the amount of food available from the hydroponics center.” Edison told him.

“Well, as you know,” Shawn remarked, “the hydroponics center is owned by Zik Zak, so they make sure to stock their own restaurants before selling to non-fast-food establishments such as this one. That means that we have to find creative ways to stay in business. One such option is to serve a soft drink before each meal. Meaning the customer will feel full and be more likely to order an appetizer instead of a larger meal.”

“You must lose a lot of potential credits doing that,” Edison remarked 

“You would think so,” Shawn said. “But the smaller meals mean more food to go around, at least for a while. And that brings in more customers. That means we can just about break even. And hopefully we can stay afloat until the hydroponics center is cleaned up and new crops are grown.”

On Star Station 23, Theora and Murray watched quietly as Edison’s vidicam sent the interview to them. 

“That’s good stuff,” Murray remarked. “Real human interest. The viewers will eat it up. No pun intended of course.”

“Once we clean up the video, we’ll broadcast,” Theora agreed. “It’ll be ready for tonight’s show.”

“Oh, have you seen Bryce by the way?” Murray asked. “Lauren’s been wanting to have a talk with him. Something about sharpening our broadcasting signal.”

“I think he’s gone back to the racquetball court,” Theora said. “He seems obsessed with figuring out a way to improve his game.”

“Or he’s just obsessed with trying to beat me,” Murray remarked. His relationship with Bryce had been once compared by Angie Bari as being similar to that been Spock and McCoy. Though Murray had no idea who Spock and McCoy were. He had meant to ask, but before he could do so, Angie had left Network 23 after marrying another Controller named John Reyes.

Back on Earth, Edison thanked Shawn for the interview and turned the vidicam back to standby. He still had more investigating to do. But if he didn’t find out more before the evening broadcast, he could make it a two-parter. That would suit the Network just fine.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7:

“Okay,” Theora said from the doorway of the racquetball court. “You’ve played enough racquetball for today, Bryce. Edison needs to find out more information on that hydroponics contamination.”

“Right,” Bryce agreed, retrieving the ball and leaving the court with her.

As they walked to his new studio, he spoke.

“Zik Zak’s hydroponics units have been running for nearly a decade now without incident.” he explained. “Therefore, whatever happened was either the result of shoddy maintenance caused by a new crew that doesn’t care as much as the old one. Which given Zik Zak’s hiring practices doesn’t seem likely. Or…”

“Or it was sabotage.” Theora realised.

“That does seem the most likely scenario,” Bryce agreed. “Now all we need to do is find out who sabotaged it and why. What would be a reason someone might have for sabotaging the world’s food supply?”

“Can you get securicam video from Happy Hydroponics?” Theora asked.

“I assume you mean the one in London,” Bryce guessed. “Sure. I can do that.”

They walked into Bryce’s studio where a computer screen was built into the wall. Taking up a comfortable position in front of the floating keyboard, Bryce began to type in a series of characters. Soon the screen was taken up by a securicam video. It appeared to be live footage of the current events.

Just as Bryce was about to do a search for the time when the incident had occurred, he and Theora saw two men walk into view.

“Turn up the sound,” Theora suggested as Bryce touched the key that would do just that.

“We can’t let the contamination be corrected too quickly,” one of the two men was saying. “They need time to prepare the first wave. If we don’t have an edge when it’s time to make our move, this will all have been in vain.”

“We still have Zlin to contend with.” the other man pointed out. “If they’re not dealt with, we still won’t have an edge no matter how well we deal with Zik Zak.”

Theora and Bryce turned to one another.

“So it is sabotage,” Theora concluded.

“But who and why?” Bryce asked.

“Keep an eye on them,” Theora told Bryce. “See where they go. Maybe we can learn more about them.”

“Okay,” Bryce agreed. “And I’m sending a copy of that footage to Control for you to transmit to Edison if you choose to.”


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8:

The morning news was on Edison’s TV as he was making breakfast. Pouring his cup of coffee, he was just taking a sip when the view-phone sounded.

He put his mug down and tapped the answer button.

“Morning,:” he said to Theora.

“Morning,” she replied. “Bryce and I looked into the contamination story. While we were searching securicam files we managed to spot a pair of unscrupulous individuals who seem to be sabotaging the world’s food supply.”

“Any idea why?” Edison asked, intrigued.

“No,” Theora admitted. “Other than something about their first wave, they didn’t allude much to their plans. Bryce managed to save a copy of their conversation. Murray doesn’t think we can air the footage, but it might give us some clues.”

“I’ll have a look at the footage,” Edison told her. “Go ahead and transmit it to my link. I’ll discuss it with Murray once I’ve seen it.”

Theora tapped a few keys and transmitted the securicam footage to Edison.

“Got it,” Edison confirmed. He watched the footage in silence for a moment. Then, he switched back to the current TV program. “Can Bryce track the guys?” 

“I would assume it shouldn’t be too difficult for him,” Theora replied. “I’ll ask him to do it once we’re finished here.”

“Okay,” Edison said.

“Who are you going to interview next?” Theora asked.

“I’m going to try speaking to the man who runs the hydroponics center,” Edison told her. “We can air the footage of my interview with Shawn tonight. It’ll make for a good human interest side of the story. I’ll try to get the big stuff ready for tomorrow’s show.”

 

Theora passed Edison’s suggestion on to Murray.

“Sounds good,” Murray replied. “We’ll run with the interview he’s got for now. Tomorrow I’ll expect an interview with the man who runs Happy Hydroponics. Unfortunately we can’t show the footage that Bryce found. If Zik Zak discovered that we were hacking into their security footage, they might withdraw their advertising contract with us.”

“Damn, Theora swore. “Is there any way we can expose those saboteurs?”

“Maybe Bryce can come up with something,” Murray offered.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9:

“Bryce,” Theora told the young genius as she walked into his studio, “it seems we can’t use the footage we obtained. Murray says it’s a conflict of interest because of our Zik Zak contract.”

“It’s okay,” Bryce told her, “I found the identities of the two men in question. I can look up their credit accounts. If they received credit payments from any source other than Zik Zak, I can find out.”

“How…” Theora began. Then she decided she’d rather not know. “Never mind.”

Bryce nodded briefly and turned back to his computer. After a few keystrokes, he turned to face Theora again.

“One of them was paid a significant credit amount by a private company called AgriCom.”

“So now we just have to find out why this AgriCom wants to sabotage Zik Zak.”

“AgriCom probably just hates competition,” Bryce suggested a short time later, when they had established contact with Edison again. “But what they hope to gain from it is a whole other story. Surely they must realize that they’ll raise suspicion if they pop up out of nowhere claiming to have food to replace what Zik Zak lost.”

“They’ll arouse some suspicion, yes,” Edison agreed. “But if they wait long enough, the people will be so hungry and so desperate that they won’t care.”  
“So the average person won’t care as long as they get fed,” Bryce acknowledged. “So how do we fix the problem.”

“It’s not up to us to fix the problem,” Murray pointed out. “Our job is to make people aware of the problem. Nothing more.”

“Somebody’s got to fix it,” Edison countered. “If all we do is report a problem and nothing gets done about it, what’s the point?”

“We’ve already made the public aware of the problem,” Bryce added. “All that’s left is whether to show them just how far this problem has gone. They know the food is drying up. What do you think they’ll do when they learn the problem was caused deliberately?”

“But Zik Zak is not the responsible party,” Theora argued.

“Some of Zik Zak’s employees are,” Murray stated. “It’s not likely the average viewer is going to differentiate between the company and its employees.”

“So what do we do?” Edison asked. He wasn’t willing to drop the issue and let people suffer.

“We need to find out more about AgriCom.” Murray said simply.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10:

Bryce spent that evening trying to hack into AgriCom’s main computer. Like his own, however, it was impossible to crack from the outside.

“I’m going to have to travel back to Earth to get into the AgriCom system first-hand.” he told Murray and Theora the next day.

“How are you going to get into the building?” Murray asked.

“I got into Security Systems, didn’t I?” Bryce asked with a smile.

“You almost came back out in a body bag,” Theora reminded him.

“I’ll be more careful,” Bryce promised. “I think I’ll just tell them I’m looking for a summer job. I’m not on Network 23’s official payroll, as you know. So it should be fairly convincing.”

“Just be careful,” Theora admonished.

“I will,” Bryce promised.

Murray contacted Edison. “Bryce is coming down,” he told the reporter. “I want you to pick him up at the landing site. He’ll be there some time tonight. He’s going to pose as a seasonal employee at AgriCom, or at least he’s going to try to, in order to find out more about them.”

“Too risky,” Edison argued.

“There’s no official record of me being a Network 23 employee,” Bryce pointed out. “To AgriCom I’m merely a teenager looking for some extra creds.”

“I doubt they’ll let you work the computer,” Edison pointed out. “It’s more likely you’ll be in the gardening center.”

“I’ll still be inside the building,” Bryce pointed out. “And I’m sure I can get to the computer during break time.”

Edison sighed in defeat. “I still don’t like it.”

 

Bryce stepped onto the landing pad the next day. Taking the lift to ground level, he coughed slightly as he got into the back of the rickshaw where Edison was already seated. 

Rik turned back to face Edison and Bryce.

“Everyone comfortable?” he asked.

“Yes,” Edison and Bryce both told him.

Rik turned back to the front and began peddling.

“I’m still not too happy about your plan, Bryce.” Edison said, recalling the thermal testing chamber the two of them had been in at Security Systems.

“I know,” Bryce admitted. “But this is different. Nobody at AgriCom knows I’m a network employee. I doubt they’ve ever heard of me.”

“It’s still risky,” Edison told him.

“It’s a risk I have to take,” Bryce told him. “Or millions of people may starve.”

Edison let out a breath.

“I think you’ve been hanging around me too much,” he told the teenager.

Bryce smiled.


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11:

 

AgriCom’s CEO, Mark Anders, was on his phone when his secretary, Ms. Llewellyn, walked in with the day’s account printouts.

“Just place them in the incoming basket,” Anders said, not looking up.

Ms. Llewellyn did so. Then she waited for him to finish his call.

Anders finished up his call and looked up to see his secretary waiting there patiently.

“Can I help you, Ms. Llewellyn?” he asked, slightly impatiently. He was a very busy man and did not have time for hovering secretaries.

“There is a young man here who wishes to apply for a job,” she told him. “He’s well-mannered and looks respectable. I told him you were busy. But he’s very insistent.”

Anders considered. 

“Send him in.” he finally said.

Ms. Llewellyn went back out to her desk.

“Go on in,” she told Bryce.

Bryce nodded a thank you and walked through the door that led to Mr. Anders’ office.

“Sit down,” Anders commanded.

Bryce sat in the chair across the desk from his prospective boss.

“Now tell me,” Anders said. “What position are you looking to fill? We need someone to work the harvesting computer as well as someone to manually check the plants for weeds and pests.”

‘Harvesting computer?’ Bryce thought. ‘No,’ he decided. ‘It’s probably not connected to the one I need to get to. But manually checking the plants might be a good way to get a foot in the door.’

“I’m not bad with computers,” Bryce admitted. “But I’m kind of tired of looking at TV screens all day.”

“Heaven forbid the politicians at the Networks should ever hear you say that!” Anders laughed. “Well then, manual checking it is. You start tomorrow morning, eight AM. Wear jeans and a t-shirt. It gets pretty warm in there. You’ll have three fifteen minute breaks to either use the bathroom or have some water. Coffee or tea is also available, but I doubt you’ll want anything hot to drink after being in the crop center.”

“Thank you,” Bryce said as he and Anders shook hands. “I’ll be here first thing tomorrow morning.”

Anders nodded and Bryce departed.

 

Edison looked up from the TV as Bryce entered his apartment.

“How did it go?” he asked.

“I got the job,” Bryce said. “It’s a blue collar job, working in the crops center checking for weeds. But it does get me inside the building.”

“When are you going to make your move?” Edison asked.

“I have to find the main computer first,” Bryce said. “I have three fifteen minute breaks. I think I’ll use the first one to locate a map of the building. I can narrow down which rooms contain computer systems and what each one is used for.”

“Just be very careful,” Edison warned. “I can’t be there with you this time.”

“I know,” Bryce said. “I’ll be very careful.”


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12:

 

Bryce was awake at seven in the morning. Making himself a quick breakfast of toast and tea he quickly showered and put on the jeans he’d bought the day before after his job interview.

He looked at himself in the mirror, being unused to wearing such mundane clothing. He usually dressed in a pair of business slacks and a button down shirt. But this wasn’t network employment he was dealing with now, and his new boss had told him to wear jeans for the job he’d be doing.

Rik picked him up and transported him to AgriCom.

“Thanks, Rik,” he said.

“I’ll see you tonight,” Rik told him as Bryce climbed down off the rickshaw and made his way to the front door of the building where he was now employed.

 

As Bryce walked into the AgriCom building, he was met by a man in his mid forties.

“You must be Bryce Lynch,” the man said. “I was told you’d be starting today. My name is Robert Weiss. I’m in charge of the crop center where you’ll be working.”

“Nice to meet you,” Bryce told him. 

Weiss led him to crop center.

“Right through this door,” he said, opening it and leading Bryce into the room.

The crop center was a large solarium about the size of a football field. Several men and women in their mid twenties and early thirties were at work there.

A couple of the nearer ones looked up, hearing the door open.

“Is that the new one?” the oldest of them asked. “Looks no more than a schoolboy.”

“Must be here for summer work,” another said approvingly. “Good for him. Better than sitting in front of the telly all day.”

“Shh!” another still warned. “That’s rebel talk! The networks hear you talking like that you’ll be in no less trouble than them folks with those off switches.”

Bryce stifled a laugh and joined them.

“I doubt they’d even notice,” he pointed out. “Too full of themselves to notice their viewers. All they care about is numbers.”

“Okay, enough,” Weiss told them. “Time to work. You can chat during break. Let’s focus on our tasks for now. Miller?”

A blond man looked up. Bryce guessed him to be in his late thirties.

“Dan Miller,” Weiss introduced. “Bryce Lynch. Mr. Lynch is starting with us today. Miller, I’d like you to supervise him. Make sure he’s familiar with the equipment and safety regulations.”

“Do I have to?” Miller asked. “I mean look at him. He’s just a kid! Probably just an irresponsible brat whose dad stopped his allowance.”

“I’m sure he’ll do just fine.” Weiss said, reassuringly. 

“Fine,” Miller grumbled. “Come along then. Don’t dawdle boy! We’ve got scant more than an acre to check before nightfall. So let’s get working.”

Bryce quickly followed Miller to one of the many rows of vegetables.

“Now,” Miller said, handing him a pair of gloves and a tool kit. “This magnifying glass will help you see the smaller pests which this tool,” he handed Bryce what looked like a torch which had a silver light rather than a white one, “is designed to kill without harming the plants. This one here,” he handed Bryce a similar told with a pink light, “is a weed killer. It will kill any plant it is pointed at, so it’s vitally important to aim it only at the roots of the weeds to avoid killing the crops with it.”

Bryce made quick verbal identification of both tools.

“Correct,” Miller told him. “Nice to see you’re paying attention. Now you’ll be working this row and the two behind you for one third of the field today. Tomorrow you’ll work the second third, and on Friday, the final third. That’s a lot of work, so I suggest you get started. First break is in two hours. Any questions?”

“How do I identify a weed?” Bryce asked.

“How can you apply for a job in a crop center without knowing what a weed is?” Miller asked in exasperation. “You know what? Never mind! I’ll show you.”

Miller pointed out the three rows which consisted of courgettes, fennel, and runner beans and showed Bryce what each looked like and how to differentiate between them and the weeds which sometimes grew near them.

After Bryce had correctly done so, and had killed a couple of weeds with the weeding wand, as Miller called it, Miller stood up.

“Remember to check for pests with both your eyes and the magnifier.” he said. “I will be back to fetch you at break time. Keep focused. I don’t want to find half the row dead because you’ve been daydreaming about some girl, or boy, or whatever you daydream about.”

Bryce watched as Miller walked away, then he turned his gaze downward and began working.


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13:

For Bryce Lynch, first break couldn’t come fast enough. After a quick trip to the restroom, he made his way to the reception center. He was certain he’d find a map of the building there.

“May I help you?” a receptionist asked.

“I just started work here,” Bryce explained. “I wanted to find out more about the building I’m employed in.”

“You just started work here?” the receptionist asked, skeptically. “In which department?”

“I’m working in the crop center. Visual scanning.” Bryce explained.

“I see,” the receptionist said. “Well, there are maps of the building over there on the wall. You can get one and memorize it at home. The emergency exits are listed on them as well as the cafeteria and restrooms. There is an employee lounge, but that’s only for the higher ups, so you don’t need to know where that is.”

“Thank you,” Bryce said, heading over to the wall and retrieving one of the maps. He put it in his pocket, then headed back to the crop center for the next few hours of his job.

“Where do you go to school?” Miller asked during lunch break.

“Home schooled,” Bryce explained. “My parents couldn’t afford to send me to an actual education center, so they asked Blank Bruno to school me instead. He used to be an educator at one of those big schools that only the rich kids get to go to. But he didn’t like how they were ignoring kids like me. So he quit and now he teaches kids from families in the Fringes.”

“So what are you learning about?” Miller asked as they ate their lunch.

“Mostly he teaches history. How the world was before TV became the center of our universe.” Bryce told him. “Did you know that back in the day people had to go to voting centers to elect our politicians?”

“That was a long time ago,” Miller said. “When they used to take up all the time during ad breaks to tell people how rotten the other candidates were. Trust me, the tel-election system is far better.”

“But you don’t really learn anything about the candidates this way,” Bryce argued.

“Since they lied all the time on both sides of the arguments during the ads anyhow,” Miller pointed out. “You didn’t learn anything about them in the old days either.”

Bryce shrugged and resumed his meal in silence.

During afternoon break, Bryce took the map he’d acquired and a toothpick he’d got from the cafeteria and made his way to one of the corridors on the first level. After checking several rooms, very carefully, he pricked a hole in each room that wasn’t a computer room, and two holes in every room that was. 

He wished they had a pen or pencil. But as hardly anyone used such instruments in these enlightened times, they were hard to come by. So he had to devise a method of marking the map in his own way.

He was soon due back in the crop center, so he carefully folded his map and put it back in his pocket before returning to work.

At the end of the day, he was picked up by Rik who brought him back to Edison’s apartment.

“Learn anything?” Edison asked. 

“I can now identify six types of weed,” Bryce told him. “I also know where six of their computer rooms are located. Though I don’t know which one the main computer is in at this time. I’m going to have to go back in again tomorrow.”

He took out the map and unfolded it.

“Mice?” Edison asked.

“Uh, no,” Bryce said, “actually I didn’t have a writing utensil so I had to make due with a toothpick. The rooms with a single hole are ones with no computer. The ones with two holes poked in them are ones that do have a computer.”

Edison had an idea.

“Max!” he called. 

Max appeared on the TV screen.

“You rang?” he drawled.

“Max,” Bryce asked. “I’ve got a map of AgriCom’s main building, Can you bring up a duplicate and show me where the main computer is on it so I can mark it down on this one?”

“No prob-prob-problem,” Max said, cheerfully. And in less than a minute the map was on the screen.

Bryce coordinated his map with Max’s and marked the main computer room with three punctures before folding it back up and putting it on the dresser next to the television.


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14:

At first break the next day, Bryce made his way to the main computer room. He noticed it was unattended and carefully picked the lock.

Entering the room, he closed and relocked the door behind him.

Carefully, he made his first attempt to access the files he wanted.

It would also be his last attempt.

Unaware of the danger, Bryce reached into his pocket and pulled out a small diskette which held the icebreaker program he intended to use to access the information Edison wanted.

It was important, he told himself, to get this information. Without it, AgriCom would continue to send its goons to Zik Zak, and maybe Zlin, to undermine their work and sabotage their hydroponics centers. There was a risk he might get caught and arrested. But it was a risk he knew he had to take.

As he attached the file that was meant to hack the system, the computer suddenly began to overheat. Realizing the machine was boobytrapped against such an intrusion, Bryce pushed the chair he was sitting in back from the computer, preparing to stand up.

That’s when the screen exploded.

AgriCom’s security detail was alerted to the situation when the main computer monitor went offline. 

“Malcolm,” the head of security told one of the guards, “go down to the main computer room and find out what’s going on. Make any calls you need when you get there. Repair. Metros. Bodybank. Anything at all.”

“Yes, sir,” Malcolm said as he headed to the main computer room.

As he made his way there, he ran into Miller who was looking for Bryce.

“What’s going on?” Miller asked.

“Problem in the main computer room,” Malcolm explained. “What are you doing out of crops?”

“Looking for the new kid,” Miller explained. “Bryce Lynch. Haven’t seen him since first break. He was supposed to be back at work five minutes ago.”

“Bryce Lynch?” Malcolm demanded.

“Yeah, why?” Miller asked.

“Damn it,” Malcolm swore. “We may have been hacked. Let the boss know we have a spy in our midst. Network 23 must have him working under Zik Zak’s directive. I’ll go and see what I can learn from him.”

Malcolm made his way to the main computer room while Miller went to talk to Weiss.

He soon arrived at the main computer room.

Unlocking the door, he found Bryce lying on the ground in a pool of blood. Turning him carefully onto his side, he saw that the boy was trembling in pain and still breathing. There was glass in his face, some of which had managed to get under his glasses and into his eyes, more still which was sticking out of his throat.

Stepping into the room across the hall where there was a working view-phone, he called for an ambulance, then returned to the main computer room and waited alongside Bryce for the paramedics to arrive.

 

At the end of the day, Rik drove his rickshaw to AgriCom to pick Bryce up. He waited for several minutes, but there was no sign of Bryce.

Somebody else did come up to his rickshaw however.

“You here to pick up Bryce Lynch?”

“Yes,” Rik agreed. “Who are you?”

“Malcolm Stevens. Did you know the kid was a spy?”

“What’s happened to him?” Rik asked, worriedly.

“He was taken to the medical center a few hours ago,” Malcolm explained. “The main computer was set up to explode if anyone tried to hack it. Most of the higher ups were made aware of that fact, so none of them were dumb enough to try.”

Rik didn’t waste time on a swear word as he raced to Edison’s apartment to give the reporter the news.


	15. Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15:

Edison rushed through the front doors of the medical center and didn’t stop until he reached the reception’s desk blurting out the name “Bryce Lynch!”

“He’s in emergency surgery,” the nurse said as soon as she had typed the name into her computer. “He was taken in a few hours ago. He must be someone important if you’re asking after him, Mr. Carter.”

“He’s my friend,” Edison explained. “I heard he’d been hurt so I came to check up on him.”

“You can have a seat in the waiting room,” the receptionist told him. “I’ll let the doctor know you’re here.”

Edison crossed to the waiting room and sat down. He spoke quietly into his vidicam.

“Theora,” he said. “I’ve got bad news. Bryce was injured during his attempt to access the main computer.”

“Oh no,” Theora gasped over the link. “How badly was he hurt.”

“I don’t know,” Edison admitted. “He’s in surgery now.”

“Surgery,” Theora whispered. “Oh dear God. I hope he’s not hurt too badly. Do you want Murray and I to come down or..?”

“Murray hates hospitals,” Edison pointed out. “Besides, if Bryce did find anything out before the… accident… I’ll need you at Control.”

Theora nodded.

“If Bryce recovers,” she told him, “tell him I wish him all the best.”

“I will,” Edison promised as he returned his vidicam to standby mode.

Momentarily, a doctor stepped up to Edison.

“You wanted to know about Bryce Lynch, I believe?” he asked.

“Yes,” Edison said. “What can you tell me about him?”

“He’s out of surgery,” the doctor explained. “He suffered lacerations of the eyes, face, and throat leaving him both blind and mute.”

Edison let out a grieved sigh. 

“So he is unable to communicate,” he said, bitterly. “He can’t see or speak.”

“One of the nurses has a son who is a mute. He has a teacher who taught him sign language.”

“How is this teacher supposed to teach sign language to a blind person?” Edison demanded. “And what idiot programs a computer to physically explode when a password is entered incorrectly?!”

“Miss Chambers is a very good teacher,” the doctor assured him. “She will most likely position your friend’s hands and fingers for him as she is teaching him.”

“Of course,” Edison agreed. “That makes sense. Thank you, doctor. When can I see him?”

“I’ll take you into his room now, Mr. Carter,” the doctor said. “Oh my name is Dr. Adams by the way.”

“Dr. Adams,” Edison noted, following the white-haired man to the room where Bryce was recovering from surgery.


End file.
